Forgotten family house

The family had a long-forgotten house deep in the countryside that once belonged to our now deceased cousin. It was located deep in the woods, at least an hour's drive from the main road. When my parents decided to visit and see what shape it was in, they packed up the car with me, my little brother, and another cousin and made the long drive out.

When we arrived, we were surprised to find a large mansion tucked away in the trees, not the little shack we were expecting. A man fixing the roof came down to greet us - turns out our cousin had hired a caretaker to maintain the property. The caretaker, a man in his 60s, welcomed us and gave my parents a history of the home.

After chatting, my mom took my brother inside while I explored the sprawling backyard with my cousin. There was a pool, a waterfall, and a pond with ducks - the place was beautiful. As dusk fell, we headed in and my dad and the caretaker told stories in the antique-filled living room. Late into the night, an alarm on the caretaker's phone went off - "motion detected" - and he swiftly shuttered the windows and locked up, claiming animals often tried to get inside.

We all headed to bed, but were awoken by faint tapping that grew louder each night. By day 8, the banging shook the whole house. That night, the alarm blared "motion detected in backyard" and my dad peered out to see a dark figure. He grabbed two rifles off the wall, handing us one each, as the caretaker appeared with ammo.

Suddenly, glass shattered in the living room. "Stay here!" the caretaker yelled, then two shotgun blasts rang out. "Run to the car!" We all bolted outside, hearing an inhuman groan behind us. My cousin turned and fired two shots, briefly illuminating a crouched, hairy creature at the door.

We sped off into the night as the caretaker revealed the land was cursed. Returning in the morning, we found muddy prints and dark blood - whatever had come in the night was real. We quickly gathered our things and left, never to return to the cursed house in the woods.